This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 arising from an application entitled, APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING MUSIC-ON-HOLD SERVICE IN KEY TELEPHONE SYSTEM, filed earlier in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Oct. 24, 1998, and there duly assigned Ser. No. 1998-44748.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a key telephone system, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for providing a music-on-hold (MOH) service in a key telephone system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a key telephone system has a music-on-hold (MOH) feature for transmitting a pre-recorded MOH melody to a call originator requesting a connection using a melody transmitter provided in the key telephone system. The pre-recorded MOH melody is played when an incoming call is being conversed into a designated extension of a phone line or a central office line associated with the incoming call, or when the extension directed by the incoming call is busy. As the originator of an incoming call hears the transmitted melody, he or she can recognize whether the state in which the calling signal is conversed into: a) the designated extension; b) the central office line; or, c) a busy extension. Hearing such MOH melody, he or she could reduce tedious waiting while the call connection is being made to the central office line or to a specific telephone line.
Conventional key telephone systems are equipped with additional hardware to provide such MOH melody, which causes high manufacturing cost. In addition, it is necessary to use separate jacks and reduce the number of subscriber""s lines to be placed in the key telephone system due to the additional hardware requirement.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for providing an MOH service in a key telephone system without using any separate hardware, such as an MOH melody transmitter.
According to one aspect of the invention, the present invention provides an apparatus for providing an external music-on-hold service in a key telephone system of the type having a central office line circuit for reserving a central office line, thereby forming a central office communication loop; an external music-on-hold melody source connected to the reserved central office line port via the central office line circuit, the external music-on-hold melody source serving to transmit a pre-recorded MOH melody via the reserved central office line port connected thereto; and, a control unit for connecting an incoming call externally received via the central office line circuit to the reserved central office line port coupled to the external music-on-hold melody source when a central office line or extension associated with the incoming call is busy, thereby allowing the previously recorded music-on-hold melody to be transmitted.
According to another aspect of the invention, the present invention provides a method for providing a music-on-hold service in a key telephone system connected to an external music-on-hold service via a central office line port, the method comprising the following steps: (a) in response to an incoming call externally received to the key telephone system via a central office line circuit, checking whether or not a central office line or extension associated with the incoming call is busy; (b) if it is determined in step (a) that the central office line or extension is busy, then checking whether a music-on-hold service for the key telephone system has been set; and (c) if it is determined in step (b) that the music-on-hold service has been set, then connecting the incoming call to the central office line port coupled to the external music-on-hold service, and transmitting a pre-recorded music-on-hold melody for providing the music-on-hold service.